John Moore: The corrosive cult of the CEO

It’s fascinating who we haven’t yet heard from now that the debate over executive compensation has been reignited by a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The CEOs themselves have been silent. Maybe it’s because they’re so used to letting others do the heavy lifting for them. In this case it has been talk radio hosts and newspaper columnists who have rushed to the defence of spoiled executives offering a buffet of sometimes improvised and even laughable arguments.

The lamest of these is that any complaint about CEO pay must be motivated by envy — a contention barely more sophisticated than the schoolyard taunt of “You’re just jealous.” Let’s be clear: Critics of income disparity aren’t opposed to the idea that some people deserve to be paid more than others. They’re irked by just how much more some people are paid. Thirty years ago, the average CEO made about 25 times more than the lowliest employee in the company they ran. Today, they make 187 times more. Read more